Marketing and Sales Advice From Kony 2012

If you have a home business, there is a lot that you can learn about Marketing and Sales for the Kony 2012 video.
Did you expect your business success to happen overnight, and it didn’t? Did you think your product would “sell itself”, and it isn’t? Or Did you assume that product will be a sales hit because people will will just talk about it and it will go viral, and you’re still waiting for that to happen?
Do not be discouraged, in this post I will explain is your missing piece of the puzzle to jump start your home business (it could be an internet business or any other traditional business).

Sometimes someone else’s success looks like something that just “happens”

In most cases, it’s never random, and usually things happen behind the scenes that make success happen. A good example is last year’s film “Kony 2012”, the most viral video ever on YouTube:
To those who managed to not hear about this video, it’s based on the true story of Joseph Kony, the chief leader of the “Lord’s Resistance Army” (LRA), a guerrilla organization that is trying to establish a theocratic regime in Uganda based on the Ten Commandments. According to various sources, Kony ordered the kidnapping of tens of thousands of young children in their homes, making them soldiers or sex slaves.
Kony took six days to reach 100 million views, 2 times faster than any other video ever before. Although the subject really speaks to the hearts of many people, the reason why Kony was able to do what no other video had done before, will create a breakthrough in your business if you read till the end.
The image below shows the expansion of the discussion about the video on Twitter.

As you can see success was not immediate. The breakthrough moment on March 6, occurred when Oprah Winfrey, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and other known public figures twitted about the video to their millions of followers, making it viral.
It is known today that what caused the big breakthrough was the marketing work of the creators of video, reaching out to key celebrities and opinion leaders, “selling” them the video (explain them and convinced them to distribute it). It was a deliberate act of marketing and sales.
Who is responsible for the Marketing and Sales in your business?

In business, there is always a connection between marketing and sales

The problem is that many of those starting a home business come from a corporate background. Only a fraction of them engaged in marketing or sales in their line of work. This means that when they enter the home business arena they lack the marketing and sales skills and have no experience in a basis element that is necessary to their success.
Every business must sell products or services to exist. When people start a home business, and they lack basic knowledge in marketing and selling which are essential components of business, and as a result their chance of success are very small.
The problem is even worst because many people have a fear selling stuff to others. Some fear asking people for money, there are those who fear talking with people they do not know, and they are those who simply lack self-confidence.
Without good marketing that will lead to making contact with the your target audience, screening for potential customers and “closing” them (which is part of the sales skills), your business will not last long.
When we are involved with a home business, it is our duty to fulfill both those functions: the marketing the and sales. If we do not do this job, or found a solution by way of outsourcing, we have no business!

Home business Marketing and Sales success

In today’s world, people are looking for instant success without effort. People see online success gurus like Daegen Smith “The King of never calling a single lead,” and see it as the solution to their fears of connecting with other people. They too want to sit at home and watch how sales automatically enter their bank account. But most people do not start internet marketing with a mailing list of tens of thousands of people like Daegan Smith. With one email Daegen can bring his message to tens of thousands of people. That’s what happen when you have good marketing skills.
If you still do not have huge mailing lists like internet gurues, as long as your leads drip at a rate of two a day (if not a week), contact them personally and improve your sales skills on them. The feedback you will get from the conversation with them will tell you how to improve your marketing, too.
Something to remember: sales and marketing are skills you can learn and improve. I say that from personal experience. Some people are born with a natural talent for sales, but if it is not you, do not lose faith. In high school I was a such a shy person, that even I am amazed that I am doing sales and marketing today. They are of course people that are more talented than me, but the beauty is the you don’t need to be the best in the world. You just need to know enough to fulfill your business dreams, and this is very achievable if you just try.

A lot of businesses fail because they are waiting for “miracles”. They see the success of others, like the Kony’s video mentioned at the beginning of the post, and they assume that it “just happened”. They are waiting for their product or service to become viral, instead of going out of their comfort zone, and learn the skills required to create success.

Answer these questions truthfully to yourself:

– With how many new people did you talk today about the product you’re marketing? Do you have a clear strategy to find your target audience?– Hand on your heart, how would you rate your sales skills? Are you confident in your ability to explain to a potential client why he needs your product?– What are you actively doing every day to improve your sales and marketing skills? Before you go…
1) If you got this far, you probably like this “marketing and sales tip”. I appreciate your feedback, so please comment and also share with your friends.
2) I am participating in the “Top 50 MLM blogs of 2012″ contest on ThatMLMbeat.
I would be honored if you can spare a few minutes to vote for me at:
http://top50mlmblogs2012.thatmlmbeat.com/hezis-success-how-to-blog
Hezi
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